Bike Fit ... $300 Wasted???

So you just paid for a bike fit, and now you're sure you’ll never adjust your aerobars again. Well, maybe you just wasted $300.

Hi everybody, Nick here. Today I want to talk more about bike fit. And despite what I just said a moment ago, I am actually a huge proponent of getting a proper fit on your tri bike. A good bike fitter can help you be more comfortable, more powerful, or more aero. A great bike fitter will help you do all three at the same time.

What I’m trying to get at, is the fact that your bike fit should never be considered a destination. It should always be a stepping stone. One fit, to another, to another. Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked with triathletes from first-time age-groupers up to multiple-time world champions, and everything in between. Every athlete at every level, benefits from changes to fit over time.

But then, what about that bike fit you just paid for? Am I saying it’s valuable, or not?

It’s both. A good, competent bike fitter will help you achieve a baseline position that optimizes your power, comfort, and aerodynamics, while ensuring that you avoid injury over time. But you should always feel free to tweak that position, and your equipment – specifically your aerobar – should allow you to easily and predictably alter the position, and easily and predictably return to that baseline whenever you like.

What do I mean by that? Well, let’s say you’ve discovered you’re feeling really good on the bike, but when you look at a side-on picture, you’re much higher than you’d like to be. What would it be like to drop your bars by 10mm, and angle the bars up another 5 degrees? You should be able to look at your equipment, say, okay, I’m at position “5” on this riser, I’ll go to position “4” instead. And I’m at 5 degrees of tilt, let’s increase to 10 degrees.

If you’re on our Alpha One aerobar, that whole operation takes about 30 seconds and can be done with a single wrench. If you’re on other aerobars, you might need a little more time and care back at your workshop. But either way, you should always feel free to tinker. If the change doesn’t work out, you can go back to your original setup. If it does work out, maybe you keep pushing. How far can you take it?

Recently, a lot of athletes have been getting closer to replicating the “superman” positions made popular by Chris Boardman and Graeme Obree in the 1990’s. It’s a fascinating idea – instead of closing the bag, they basically squash it flat, like a swimmer cutting through water.

Pros already know this little pearl of wisdom, and most pros at the top end get a new bike fit at least once a year if not more frequently. For age-groupers who don’t want to spend that much time or money on fit, a good side-on camera and a critical eye can go a long way to helping you find a little bit more of that free speed.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for watching, I’ll see you next time.